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ADDRESS 

Before  the  Alumni  Association  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  June  2,  1903, 


JOHN  SPRUNT  HILL. 


Address  Before  the  Alumni  Association  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  June  2,  1903, 
by  John  Sprunt  Hill. 


Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Alumni  Association  : 

When  I  was  a  student  here  about  fifteen  years  ago,  many 
of  theeollegeboys  and  a  considerable  number  of  their  fathers 
invariably  smiled  when  a  young  alumnus  arose  to  address 
an  audience  and  inti^oduced  his  remarks  with  allusions  to 
"Classic  halls  and  memories  dear."  Such  salutations  were 
permissible  only  in  great  orators,  and  in  men  whose  "fore- 
heads were  silvered  o'er  with  age."  It  has,  therefore,  seemed 
advisable  to  me,  a  mere  private  in  the  ranks  of  speakers,  and 
still  painfully  young,  to  bring  myself  into  touch  with  the 
occasion  by  relating  a  little  story  that  may  be  of  interest  to 
many  of  you.  Ma3'be  it  has  something  to  do  with  my 
presence  here  to-da}%  and  maybe  it  will  throw  some  light 
upon  the  erection  of  one  of  the  recent  adornments  to  this 
beautiful  Campus. 

Away  back  in  the  twenties,  during  the  "Era  of  Good  Feel- 
ing" in  North  Carolina,  the  wise  men  of  the  State,  for  reasons 
known  to  themselves,  enacted  a  number  of  statutes,  prohib- 
iting forever  from  the  domains  of  Chapel  Hill,  billiard  tables, 
games  of  chance,  exhibitions  of  artificial  and  natural  curios- 
ities, and  all  such  other  spirits  of  evil.  For  more  than  seventy 
years  the  warm-blooded  scions  of  God-fearing  ancestors  had 
brooded  over  the  harshness  of  these  decrees.  Finally,  on  an 
afternoon  in  May  eleven  years  ago  the  peaceful  reflections  of 
two  young  students  of  law  upon  the  serious  inconveniences 
of  these  historic  restrictions,  were  rudely  interrupted  by  the 
sudden  appearance  of  a  stranger,  who  asked  in  a  loud  voice, 
"Is  there  a  billiard  parlor  in  this  place?"     "No,  sir-re,  no 


[4] 

billiard  parlor  here,"  the  student  replied.  "In  this  blessed 
village  the  gospel  of  'faith,  hope  and  charity'  has  long  since 
superceded  the  doctrine  of  'life,  liberty  and  happiness.'  "  The 
stranger  laughed  heartily,  and  soon  pulled  up  a  chair  and 
joined  the  students  in  smoking  pipes  of  peace  and  happiness 
and  all  indulged  in  an  exchange  of  personal  confidences. 
Before  long  the  new-comer  announced  that  he  was  much 
pleased  with  the  looks  of  the  Campus,  and  as  he  was  enjoy- 
ing himself  so  much,  he  might  stay  a  few  days  and  rest  from 
his  travels.  One  of  these  two  students  of  law  returned  to 
Chapel  Hill  about  the  middle  of  the  following  summer  to 
gather  up  his  little  worldly  goods  and  thereafter  seek  new 
fields  of  fortune.  Upon  saying  good-bye  to  the  venerable  old 
dispenser  of  ham  and  eggs  at  the  Watson  Hotel,  this  student 
w^as  presented  with  a  small  white  card,  recently  found,  as  he 
stated,  pinned  to  the  ceiling  of  the  room  occupied  by  our 
stranger  during  his  recent  stay  at  Chapel  Hill.  Upon  one 
side  of  the  card  was  engraved,  "W.  G.  Peckham,  111  Broad- 
way, New  York,"  and  upon  the  other  side  was  written  in 
pencil,  "If  J.S.  Hill  or  W.  W.  Davies  should  ever  come  to  New 
York  he  will  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  call  on  me."  In  the 
course  of  the  following  year,  the  law  student,  who  had  finally 
drifted  to  New  York  City,  after  many  weeks  of  fruitless  search 
for  work,  called  to  mind  the  strange  little  card  and  concluded 
to  follow  up  its  suggestion.  The  presentation  of  this  card  to 
this  brilliant  but  erratic  lawyer  was  an  "open  sesame"  to 
the  years  of  professional  employment  which  make  possible 
the  presence  of  your  speaker  here  to-day,  and  during  these 
several  years  more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars  of  Yankee 
money  found  its  way  into  the  village  of  Chapel  Hill. 

But,  Fellow  Alumni,  this  University  cannot  live  and  grovsr 
in  greatness  upon  Arabian  Nights'  stories.  I  have  come  here 
to-day  on  a  mission  of  love  and  devotion  to  the  State  that 
gave  me  birth,  and  to  the  institution  of  learning  that  gave 
me  a  thousand  times  more  than  I  can  ever  repay.  The  force 
of  my  remarks,  therefore,  will  be  directed  toward  doing 


[5] 

something  for  the  good  of  tlie  University,  and  if  by  chance  I 
shall  strike  out  into  new  fields  and  make  statements  that 
mav  not  meet  with  vour  approbation,  I  beg  you  to  measure 
my  efiort  by  the  spirit  that  prompts  it  rather  than  by  the 
manner  of  its  performance. 

LEGAL  STATUS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

What  is  the  University  of  North  Carolina  ?  Is  it  a  creation 
of  a  few  individimls  or  of  the  whole  public  ?  Is  it  controlled 
by  a  small  body  of  men  of  like  mind,  or  is  it  controlled  by  a 
whole  people  ?  Is  it  a  private  corporation  or  is  it  a  public 
corporation  ?  A  clear  understanding  of  these  legal  questions 
is  not  often  found  among  our  people,  and  I  am  satisfied  from 
a  personal  investigation  that  the  misunderstanding  of  the 
exact  legal  status  of  the  University  in  the  minds  of  many  of 
the  best  citizens  of  our  State  has  militated  against  its  proper 
support,  and  narrowed  its  usefulness.  Fortunately  it  is  a 
very  short  labor  of  love  to  set  forth  the  exact  legal  setting 
of  our  Alma  Mater. 

The  Legislature  of  1789,  in  pursuance  to  the  mandate  of 
the  first  constitution,  providing  that  "All  useful  learning 
shall  be  duly  encouraged  and  promoted  in  one  or  more 
universities,"  passed  "An  Act  to  establish  a  University  in 
this  State."  This  act  made  full  and  complete  provisions  for 
the  organization  of  the  institution.  Forty  of  her  greatest 
men,  representing  all  sections  of  the  State,  were  declared  to 
be  a  "body  politic  and  corporate,"  under  the  name  of  "The 
Trustees  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,"  (the  corporate 
name  is  now  "The  University  of  North  Carolina"),  and  were 
granted  perpetual  succession.  They  were  authorized  to  hold 
all  kinds  of  property  "for  the  use  of  said  University,"  in 
"special  trust  and  confidence"  that  the  "profits  shall  be 
applied  to,  and  for,  the  use  and  purpose  of  establishing  and 
endowing  said  University."  One  week  after  receiving  the 
charter  the  Tnistees  met  for  organization,  accepted  the 
charter  and  began  to  solicit  subscriptions  from  private  indi- 


[6] 

viduals  "to  be  held  as  a  pe'rmanent  fund  for  the  University 
forever."  In  1795  the  institution  became  fully  organized 
and  opened  its  doors  to  students.  There  are  many  early 
decisions  of  our  courts  throwing  some  light  upon  this  sub- 
ject, but  it  remains  for  our  truh^  great  jurist,  Thomas  RuiEn, 
to  lay  down  the  full  legal  principles  governing  this  charter 
and  defining  the  exact  legal  status  of  the  University  in  a 
manner  so  clear  and  bold  that  his  opinion  has  become  a 
leading  authority,  and  is  cited  all  over  the  country.  In  the 
case  of  Trustees  of  University  vs.  Maultsbv,  8  Iredell's  Equity, 
258  (1852),  Chief  Justice  Ruffin  says,  "The  University  is  a 
public  institution  and  body  politic  and  hence  subject  to 
legislative  control  ....  It  was  founded  by  the  State  on 
public  funds  and  for  a  general  public  charity  ....  It  seems 
to  the  court  that  there  cannot  be  an  instance  of  a  corpora- 
tion more  exclusively  founded  for  the  public,  more  completely 
the  creature  of  public  policy,  for  public  purposes  purely,  than 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  It  is  as  much  so  as  other 
public  functionaries,  the  President  and  Directors  of  a  Literary 
Board,  and  the  Board  of  Public  Works  ...  ."  In  the  same 
case  Chief  Justice  Ruffin  shows  how  such  a  public  charitable 
corporation  differs  from  the  denominational  college  or  pri- 
vate charitable  corporation  in  the  following  words,  "Char- 
ters of  corporations  founded  by  individuals  on  their  own 
funds  for  their  own  emoluments  or  for  the  purposes  of 
education  or  other  general  charity  are  contracts  of  inviolable 
obligation  ....  The  admission  and  exclusion  of  members, 
the  qualification  of  directors  and  trustees,  the  mode  of  keep- 
ing up  their  succession  and  the  government  of  such  corpor- 
ations are  absolutely  fixed  by  the  charter."  And  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  in  the  Dartmouth  College  case,  an  institu- 
tion as  you  may  recall  founded  b}^  Congregational  ministers 
for  the  purpose  of  educating  Indian  missionaries,  says,  "A 
hospital  founded  by  a  private  benefactor  is  a  private  corpor- 
ation in  point  of  law,  although  dedicated  by  its  charter  to 
general  charity.    So  is  a  college  founded  and  endowed  in  the 


[7] 

same  manner  ....  The  faCt  that  the  charity  is  pubHc 
affords  no  proof  that  the  corporation  is  also  public."  The 
paramount  reason  for  the  establishment  of  such  private, 
charitable  institutions  for  higher  education  in  North  Carolina 
has  always  been  the  free  education  of  ministerial  students, 
and  as  a  subsequent  development  all  young  men  of  good 
character,  irrespective  of  creed,  were  admitted,  in  order  that 
the  fees  paid  by  them  might  help  to  support  the  institutions. 
The  theory  behind  the  establishment  is  about  as  follows:  It 
is  the  dut}^  of  a  body  of  persons  of  like  religious  opinions  to 
educate  their  candidates  for  the  ministry;  educated  ministers 
in  time  make  intelligent  worshipers  and  these  individual 
worshipers  finally  impart  the  lasting  benefits  of  education  to 
the  entire  community.  Hence  the  State  exempts  such  insti- 
tutions from  taxation,  protects,  fosters  and  encourages 
them.  Legally  they  are  the  friends  and  allies  of  the  State, 
and  of  the  State's  institution  for  the  promotion  and  encour- 
agement of  "All  useful  learning" — its  University.  Benevo- 
lence is  the  mainspring  of  their  existence. 

LIGHT  FROM  OUR  FATHERS. 

And  so  it  was  with  our  forefathers.  Benevolence  was  the 
dominant  spirit  of  all  colonial  education.  Theology  was 
taught  by  nearly  every  college  in  the  original  colonies.  In 
North  Carolina,  as  elsewhere,  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  the 
affairs  of  the  Church  were  under  the  same  general  control  of 
the  English  government.  For  many  years  no  person  was 
allowed  to  teach  in  North  Carolina  unless  he  first  secured 
the  consent  of  the  Bishop  of  England,  and  as  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  colonists  were  dissenters  from  the  established 
church,  who  would  not  have  their  children  taught  by  teachers 
who  secured  this  consent,  there  was  no  great  diffusion  of 
knowledge  in  the  colony.  During  the  last  fifty  years  before 
the  Revolution  these  religious  restrictions  were  not  so  rigidly 
enforced  and  the  history  of  education  in  the  colony  became 
inseparably  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian 


[8] 

church.  "Almost  invariably,"  says  Foote  (Sketches  of  N.  C. 
P.  513),  "as  a  neighborhood  was  settled,  preparations  were 
made  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  by  a  regular  stated 
pastor,  and  wherever  a  pastor  was  located,  in  that  congre- 
gation there  was  a  classical  school,  as  in  Sugar  Creek, 
Poplar  Tent,  Centre,  Bethany,  Buffalo,  Thyatira,  Grove 
(Duplin  county)  and  Wilmington,  and  the  churches  occupied 
by  Patillo  in  Orange  and  Granville  counties." 

Queen's  College  in  Mecklenburg  county,  under  the  control 
of  the  Orange  Presbytery,  was,  immediately  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  one  of  the  greatest  church  colleges  in  the  country. 
From  the  halls  of  this  great  Presbyterian  stronghold,  "with- 
out concert  of  other  States,  without  assurances  from  any 
quarter,"  then  and  there  came  the  first  ringing  announcement 
in  America  of  the  birth  of  "a  free  and  independent  people." 
From  the  halls  of  Queen's  College,  this  same  Presbyterian 
stronghold  came  the  first  ringing  demand  for  a  State  Univer- 
sity. Positive  instructions  were  given  by  these  churchmen 
to  their  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  at  Halifax 
"to  use  all  their  endeavors  for  the  establishment  of  a  Univer- 
sity and  its  endowment  and  maintenance."  "Who  in  this 
world  ever  heard  of  a  hard-headed  Presbyterian  easily  chang- 
ing his  opinion  ?  It  is  safe  to  say  that  nothing  short  of  a 
revolution  and  a  stupendous  death  struggle  for  civil  and 
religious  liberty  could  have  caused  these  grand  old  fighting 
churchmen  to  change  their  minds.  Was  it  mere  accident, 
and  because  they  were  smarting  under  the  insult  of  George 
III,  who  had  declined  to  give  them  a  charter  for  their  college? 
No,  the  same  kind  of  church  people  up  in  Pennsylvania  were 
making  the  same  demand  for  a  State  University,  and  within 
a  few  years  great  men  and  great  patriots  all  over  the  country 
joined  in  the  same  noble  work.  George  Washington,  the 
former  Chancellor  of  the  Episcopal  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  was  pleading  for  a  great  national  university.  Thomas 
JeflFerson,  in  Virginia,  was  making  plans  for  a  great  State 
University,  and  likewise  Alexander  Hamilton  in  New  York, 


[9] 

and  John  Adams  in  Massachusetts.  Was  it  a  mere  accident 
of  history  that  caused  tlicse  sturdy  sons  of  North  Carolina 
during  the  darkest  hours  of  the  Revolution,  just  after  the 
surrender  of  New  York,  to  meet  for  the  framing  of  the  first 
constitution  of  a  free  people,  and  "with  faith  approaching 
sublimity,"  write  down  into  their  supreme  law  "a  school  or 
schools  shall  be  established  by  the  Legislature  for  the  con- 
venient instruction  of  youth,  with  such  salaries  to  the  mas- 
ters paid  by  the  public  as  may  enable  them  to  instruct  at  low 
prices;  and  all  useful  learning  shall  be  duly  encouraged  and 
promoted  in  one  or  more  universities  ?"  No,  it  was  because 
the  blood  of  the  Revolution  gave  to  our  fathers  a  new  educa- 
tional baptism. 

Those  of  you  who  have  been  to  that  little  burying  ground 
by  the  roadside,  as  j'ou  go  toward  the  valley  from  the  old 
home  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  have  seen  the  words  cut  into 
the  marble  there,  "Author  of  the  Declaration  of  American 
Independence,  of  the  Statute  of  Virginia  for  Religious  Free- 
dom, and  Father  of  the  University  of  Virginia,"  can  follow 
the  grand  sequence  of  ideas,  and  tell  why  the  patriots  of 
North  Carolina  gave  us  a  university.  It  is  said  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Virginia  that  it  is  the  "lengthened  shadow  of  one 
man— JEFFERSON."  The  University  of  North  Carolina  is 
the  lengthened  shadow,  not  of  one  man,  but  of  a  whole 
people,  the  "freest  of  the  free,"  united  in  a  grand  struggle  for 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  It  represents  their  sublime  confi- 
dence in  the  justice  of  their  cause  as  well  as  their  abiding 
hope  in  its  eternal  usefulness.  In  those  days,  as  it  should 
now,  the  right  of  private  judgment  presupposed  sufficient 
intelligence  in  the  individval  to  arrive  at  an  intelligent  judg- 
ment. Educated  citizenship,  therefore,  was  the  rock  on  which 
the  whole  structure  of  their  new  democratic  government 
rested.  Hence,  it  was  the  first  duty  of  the  State  to  secure  an 
educated  citizenship  and  provide  for  its  maintenance  and 
support.  Believing  firmly  that  the  preservation  of  the  bless- 
ings of  liberty  to  themselves  and  to  all  posterity  rested  upon 


[10] 

the  education  of  the  youth  of  the  State  they  were  afraid  to 
leave  a  matter  of  such  momentus  importance  to  benevolence 
and  to  philanthropy  and  to  private  enterprise.  Hence,  to 
the  ideas  already  in  existence  favoring  education  for  the 
preservation  of  learning,  for  the  social,  moral  and  religious 
improvement,  the  Revolution  brought  the  new  educational 
baptism  and  for  all  future  time  the  dominating  idea,  of 
education  as  a  means  of  self-defense,  self-protection  and  as 
the  best  means  of  preserving  civil  and  religious  liberty  and 
transmitting  it  to  posterity. 

Before  passing  from  this  line  of  thought  allow  me  to  recall 
another  significant  fact  from  our  early  history  that  should 
be  kept  in  mind  in  this  day  of  great  educational  discussion. 
Our  fathers  regarded  this  University  as  a  public  trust  just 
as  much  as  the  common  schools.  Look  behind  the  clamor 
of  the  crowd  for  public  schools  to-day,  and  you  will  find,  far 
or  near,  the  brains  and  the  labors  of  such  men  as  Battle, 
Craven,  Morrison,  Winston,  Alderman,  Venable.  No  prin- 
ciple in  educational  science  is  better  established  than  the 
fact  that  the  desire  for  education  starts  from  the  top  and 
travels  downward,  and  not  from  the  bottom  upwards. 
Says  United  States  Commissioner  Dawson,  who  during  his 
term  of  oflice  made  a  most  extensive  study  of  education  in 
the  United  States,  "In  every  instance  the  foremost  desire  of 
the  people  has  been  for  colleges  and  universities,  rather  than 
for  schools  of  a  lower  grade.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the 
colonists  and  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  West  and  the  South, 
that  primary  and  secondary  schools  were  essentially  depen- 
dent for  their  existence  upon  higher  institutions.  This  prin- 
ciple is  borne  out  by  the  facts  .  .  .  The  necessity  for  higher 
education  for  the  support  of  the  primary  schools  is  now 
regarded  as  a  fundamental  truth."  It  is  significant  that  in 
both  Pennsylvania  and  North  Carolina,  the  first  two  States 
in  the  Union  to  take  bold  stands  in  their  constitutions  for 
education,  the  University  and  the  common  schools  are  placed 
on  the  same  footing,  and  the  demand  for  the  university  came 


[11  ] 

forty  years  before  the  demand  for  the  pubhc  schools.  The 
first  school  established  in  New  England  was  not  a  primary 
school,  but  a  college. 

HOPES    FULFILLED. 

How  abundantly  the  hopes  of  our  fathers  in  establishing 
this  institution  have  been  fulfilled  is  a  grand  and  glorious 
record.  Its  story  brings  a  thrill  of  pride  to  the  heart  of  every 
loyal  son  of  the  "Old  North  State."  But  the  widespread  use- 
fulness of  this  University  has  become  such  common  knowledge 
to  this  gathering  that  I  shall  not  delay  you  to  recount  its 
details.  Permit  me  in  passing,  to  recall  a  brief  tribute  from 
Judge  Archibald  Murphy,  the  "Father  of  the  Public  School 
System"  in  North  Carolina,  found  in  his  official  report  to  the 
Legislature  in  1817.  "This  institution  has  been  in  opera- 
tion for  twenty  years  and  has  been  eminently  useful  to  the 
State.  It  has  contributed,  perhaps  more  than  any  one  cause, 
to  diffuse  a  taste  for  reading  among  the  people  and  to  excite  a 
spirit  of  liberal  improvement.^'  One  has  but  to  look  around 
him  in  our  State  to-day  to  see  the  splendid  examples  of  the 
effective  fruitfulness  and  public  ser\'ice  of  this  institution. 
Closed  for  nearlj'  ten  years  during  the  dark  daj^s  of  recon- 
struction, out  of  the  first  three  classes  after  the  reopening 
came  those  peerless  examples  of  public  service,  Charles  B. 
Aycock,  James  Y.  Joyner  and  Charles  D.  Mclver.  What  a 
splendid  fulfillment  of  the  sublime  hopes  of  those  great 
hearted,  self  sacrificing  men,  who,  thirty  years  ago  "plucked 
this  University  from  the  weeds,"  and  gave  back  to  our  pov- 
erty stricken  people  the  best  means  of  preserving  their  liber- 
ties and  of  upbuilding  their  fortunes. 

In  following  the  record  of  achievements  of  this  institution 
we  are  forcibly  reminded  of  the  famous  witticism  of  Senator 
Evarts  in  explaining  why  Washington  was  able  to  throw  a 
silver  dollar  across  the  Potomac.  A  comparison  of  its  rec- 
ords with  those  of  other  institutions  shows  that  it  has  al- 
ways been  able  to  make  a  dollar  go  farther  and  bring  back 
more  than  any  other  institution  in  the  country. 


[12] 

NEEDS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

But  while  the  laying  bare  of  basis  principles,  and  the  re- 
counting of  glorious  memories  may  be  interesting  and  edify- 
ing to  some  of  us,  I  take  it  that  the  imperative  duty  of  every 
one  of  this  gathering  of  her  loyal  sons  is  to  come  down  to 
business  and  lend  his  aid  toward  the  formation  of  some  de- 
finite plan  providing  for  the  pressing  needs  of  our  Alma 
Mater.  This  is  a  day  of  large  ideas,  of  great  community  ef- 
fort, of  gigantic  business  undertakings,  and  North  Carolina 
is  right  up  in  the  forefront  of  this  immense  progress.  During 
the  last  twenty-five  years  she  has  become  a  great  industrial 
community.  She  is  no  longer  poor  and  helpless.  The  city  of 
Raleigh  alone  has  more  money  in  her  banks  than  all  of  the 
banks  had  twenty -five  years  ago.  Mere  magnitude  in  busi- 
ness no  longer  frightens  our  people.  Why  therefore  should 
mere  magnitude  in  educational  matters  frighten  them  ?  Is  it 
not  the  paramount  duty  of  this  body  to  give  to  our  Univer- 
sity the  opportunity  of  keeping  pace  with  the  progress  of  the 
times,  of  moving  on  to  its  greater  destiny,  its  higher  life,  its 
broader  field  of  usefulness  ?  Is  it  not  time  for  us  to  begin  the 
work  of  making  this  institution  a  great  Southern  States' 
University,  a  modem  directive  force,  commensurate  with  the 
demands  of  our  people  and  alert  to  all  their  growing  needs  ? 
President  Venable  has  already  answered  the  question  in  the 
affirmative,  and  with  hope  and  enthusiasm  is  devoting  his 
brains  and  his  energies  to  the  Herculean  task.  The  great- 
ness of  his  sacrifice,  for  without  doubt,  his  salary  can  no  more 
than  pay  his  living  expenses,  the  nobility  of  his  effort,  the 
wonderful  fruitfulness  of  his  labors,  the  number  and  the  mag- 
nitude of  his  pressing  needs  enlist  out  deepest  sympathy,  in- 
voke the  highest  admiration,  and  call  for  our  most  earnest 
and  intelligent  co-operation.  This  work  will  require  the  best 
men  and  we  want  from  them  the  best  service.  Let  us  not 
beat  down  the  market  that  we  may  purchase  mediocrity 
cheap.  But  let  us  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  behind  our 
splendid  standard  bearer  and  give  him  the  support  that  he 


[13] 

demands.  A  university  which  has  all  it  wants  has  already 
begun  to  decline,  and  a  president  of  a  university  who  is  not 
alw^avs  wanting  something,  should  hand  in  his  resignation. 
I  figured  up  the  first  eight  needs  enumerated  in  Dr.  Venable's 
report,  under  the  head  of  "Teaching  Force,"  and  they  call 
for  about  $12,000  a  year.  The  remaining  pressing  needs 
mentioned  under  the  head  of  "Equipment"  call  for  about 
$400,000.  In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  discussion  it  seems 
tome  that  the  Legislature  is  the  proper  place  to  look  for  help 
in  providing  for  an  increased  teaching  force,  and  that  today 
we  need  not  turn  the  energies  of  this  body  in  that  direction. 

Indeed  in  view  of  the  great  demand  for  teachers  for  the 
primary  and  secondary  schools  all  over  the  State  it  would 
seem  to  be  the  plain  duty  of  the  Legislature  to  comply  with 
the  mandate  of  the  Constitution  requiring  it  to  "establish 
and  maintain  in  connection  with  the  University,  a  depart- 
ment of  Normal  Instruction,"  and  to  appropriate  at  the  next 
session  sufficient  funds  for  this  new  department. 

It  appears  from  the  constitutional  history  of  this  State 
that  for  more  than  one  hundred  years  the  people  when  act- 
ing in  their  soverign  capacity  have  steadil}'  and  almost  un- 
animously voted  for  the  University.  It  is  safe  therefore,  to 
lay  aside  all  fear  in  this  respect  and  to  start  with  the  dictum 
of  Judge  Locke  in  1805,  "The  University  is  as  permanent  as 
the  government."  From  a  comparison  of  the  history  of  leg- 
islation in  this  State  with  that  of  other  States,  where  from 
the  misfortunes  of  war  the  condition  of  public  finances  in  re- 
cent years  has  never  been  conducive  to  large  appropriations, 
it  appears  that  our  lawmakers  have  been  slow  to  appreciate 
the  value  of  a  great  institution  for  higher  education  as  a 
means  of  self  protection  and  as  a  means  of  upbuilding  the 
State.  But  it  also  appears  that  during  the  past  few  years 
there  have  been  many  evidences  of  great  progress  in  this  res- 
pect. With  the  rising  tide  of  public  spirit  in  North  Carolina, 
and  the  irresistible  movement  for  educated  citizenship  we 
ma}' expect  a  larger  view  and  a  more  generous  consideration 
of  higher  education. 


[14] 

It  is  now  a  well  settled  opinion  of  political  economists  in 
this  country  and  abroad  that  in  the  ideal  of  democratic 
liberty  which  our  forefathers  gave  to  us,  is  to  be  found  the 
true  genesis  of  the  mighty  forces  which  make  the  great  for- 
tunes of  America  to  outshine  the  wealth  ofOrmusand  oflnd. 
Under  the  inspiration  of  this  great  ideal  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century  the  plain  citizens  of  a  democratic  republic,  whether 
for  the  creation  of  wealth,  or  for  the  establishment  of 
national  power,  or  for  the  finer  and  loftier  developments  of 
modem  civilization,  have  become  the  most  productive  agents 
that  the  Almighty  has  set  to  work  on  the  face  of  this  earth. 
With  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  blessings  of  democratic 
liberty,  and  with  a  deeper  consciousness  that  to-day  there 
are  ominous  signs  on  the  horizon,  more  or  less  distant  in  the 
South,  but  red  and  glaring  throughout  the  North  and  West, 
pointing  to  its  downfall,  we  may  be  sure  that  further  legis- 
latures in  North  Carolina  will  maintain  to  the  best  of  their 
ability  this  old  institution,  given  to  us  by  our  forefathers  as 
the  best  means  of  preserving  democratic  liberty  and  trans- 
mitting its  blessings  to  all  posterity. 

But  how  about  the  $400,000  for  libraries,  halls  of  science, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building  and  graduate 
departments?  In  meeting  these  demands  it  is  believed  by  me 
that  we  need  not  and  that  we  should  not  look  to  the  public 
treasury.  It  is  .always  the  first  duty  of  the  guardians  of 
monies  of  a  democratic  people  to  make  the  burdens  of  taxa- 
tion rest  as  lightly  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  general  public  as 
the  circumstances  will  permit.  But  where  an  institution  for 
higher  education  is  a  public  corporation,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  people,  and  under  the  control  of  the  whole  people  I  do 
think  that  we  have  the  right  to  expect  the  hearty  cooperation 
of  the  people's  representatives.  We  have  the  right  to  expect 
their  aid  in  improvising  methods  for  bringing  to  the  support 
of  this  public,  charitable  corporation  the  powerful  assist- 
ance of  benevolence  and  philanthropy,  the  love  and  the 
interest  and  the  wealth  of  thousands  of  high  minded  men 


[15] 

and  women  scattered  over  this  State  and  throughout  the 
whole  country.  We  do  not  ask  money  from  the  Legislature, 
but  time  and  consideration  and  patriotism  and  brains.  Is 
it  not  time  for  the  best  intellects  of  North  Carolina  to  make 
a  new  and  a  thorough  study  of  the  problems  of  education 
for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing  the  conflicting  elements  in 
our  present  sj'stem  and  for  the  purpose  of  blending  them  in- 
to a  unity  of  strength  and  power,  of  increased  fruitfulness, 
without  any  greath'  increased  cost  of  maintenance?  Is  it 
not  our  duty  to  look  over  our  educational  plant  and  throw 
out  all  the  broken  and  antiquated  pieces  of  its  machinery? 
Sometime  ago  I  asked  a  prominent  manufacturer  how  it  was 
that  he  made  so  much  money  in  certain  of  his  factories 
where  other  good  men  alongside  of  him  had  signally  failed. 
His  answer  was,  "I  am  alwaj^s  ripping  out  old  and  worn 
out  machiney,  and  replacing  it  with  the  latest  and  most  im- 
proved machinery  that  can  be  found  in  Europe  and  America." 
Granting,  however,  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  building 
up  of  a  great  Universit}'  here  in  North  Carolina  how  can  any 
president  accomplish  the  stupendous  undertaking  with  a 
disorganized  alumni  and  a  Board  of  Seventy -eight  Trustees, 
splendid  men  as  individuals,  but  as  trustees  only  one  out  of 
every  four  has  sufficient  educational  enthusiasm  to  attend 
the  meetings  of  his  own  Board.  If  it  be  true  |that  "there  is 
safet}'  in  a  multitude,"  it  is  equally  true  that  division  of 
responsibility  among  a  multitude  prevents  progress  and 
brings  stagnation  and  dry  rot.  This  institution  no  longer 
belongs  exclusively  to  the  residents  of  North  Carolina.  It  is 
the  Alma  Mater  of  men  scattered  all  over  the  world.  One 
good  live  alumnus  on  the  Board  of  Trustees  residing  in  the 
City  of  New  York  alone,  has  the  opportunity  of  doing  more 
for  this  Universit}'  than  any  five  average  men  residing  in 
North  Carolina  and  picked  in  our  eas}'  going  manner  of 
equitable  distribution  of  honorable  distinctions.  I  know 
whereof  I  speak.  Far  be  it  from  m}-  nature  to  find  any  fault 
with  the  public  service  of  this  distinguished  body,  of  which 


[16] 

my  father  was  a  member  almost  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
But  with  love  and  reverence,  I  must  speak  plainly  about  a 
matter  that  I  know,  and  you  know,  to  be  a  serious  handi- 
cap to  the  progress  of  the  institution  that  we  love  to  the 
bottom  of  our  hearts. 

No  institution  on  earth  has  a  more  tender  hold  upon  the 
affections  of  the  individual  alumnus  than  this  University. 
The  love  of  the  old  Chapel  Hillian  for  his  Alma  Mater  evokes 
all  the  poetry  that  lies  hidden  in  his  innermost  heart.  Locate 
him  where  you  w^ill,  in  New  York,  Chicago,  Galveston,  his 
love  for  this  hallowed  place  follows  him  on  and  on.  It  is  a 
part  of  his  life.  He  is  like  the  vase  in  which  roses  have  been 
instilled, 

"You  may  break,  you  may  shatter  the  vase  if  you  will, 
But  the  scent  of  the  roses  will  hang  around  it  still." 

And  yet  with  all  this  individual  attachment  and  individual 
enthusiasm,  all  attempts  to  organize  the  Alumni  into  a  strong 
working  body  have  signally  failed.  Why?  Because  sweet 
reminiscence  will  occasionally  bring  men  together  to  laugh, 
to  speak  and  to  weep,  and  maybe  in  an  outburst  of  spas- 
modic enthusiasm  some  important  business  will  be  trans- 
acted. But  in  order  to  secure  the  steady  pressure,  the 
powerful  force  of  organized  enthusiasm,  year  in  and  year 
out,  you  must  have  organized  business  of  large  importance 
constantly  engaging  their  attentions  and  calling  for  responsi- 
ble action.  What  makes  men  of  affairs  come  from  Chicago 
and  Cincinnati  to  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  every  year? 
It  is  because  the  Alumni  have  some  official  standing  in  the 
affairs  of  Yale  University,  and  there  is  an  election  of  a  num- 
ber of  their  body  as  "Members  of  the  Corporation." 

ALUMNI  TRUSTEES. 

It  is  believed  by  many  of  us  that  if  the  Legislature  will 
pass  an  Act  empowering  the  Alumni  Association  of  the 
Universit3'  of  North  Carolina  to  elect  twenty -six  members  or 
one-third  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  its  own  way,  it  will 


[17] 

that  moment  breathe  new  Hfe  into  the  dead  bones  of  the 
Alunmi  Association,  and  a  thoroughly  organized  body  of 
men  will  (luickly  spring  into  existence  that  will  every  day  in 
the  year  render  powerful  assistance  in  carrying  the  burdens 
of  the  University  and  in  supplying  equipment  for  its  greater 
progress  and  its  iiigher  development.  The  plan  of  giving  to 
the  Alumni  a  business  standing  in  the  management  and 
support  of  higher  institutions  of  learning  is  not  a  new  one. 
It  has  already  been  adopted  in  manv  localities  and  has 
invariably  proven  productive  of  splendid  results.  Such  an 
innovation,  while  in  no  manner  destroying  the  safety  of  the 
multitude  will,  in  the  light  of  experience  in  other  States, 
shake  off  the  shackles  of  inertia,  bring  to  the  Board  new 
blood,  new  educational  enthusiasm,  and  new  capacity'  for 
expansion  and  progress. 

The  State  Constitution,  Section  6,  provides  that  "The 
General  Assembly  shall  have  power  to  provide  for  the  elec- 
tion of  Trustees  of  the  University,"  and  Judge  Pearson,  in 
passing  upon  the  meaning  of  this  section  in  Trustees,  etc.,  vs. 
Afc/vcr  (1875),  says,  "B3'  confennng  an  unrestricted  power 
upon  the  General  Assembly,  that  body  could  adopt  the  old 
mode  (election  of  Tmstees  b\-  Board  of  Education)  or  some 
other,  and  if  the  mode  adopted  in  the  first  instance  proved 
unsuccessful,  set  aside  and  substitute  another  by  ordinary 
legislation;  for  instance,  if  the  General  Assembl}^  adopted  the 
old  mode  and  that  under  the  new  conditions,  resulting  from 
the  war,  did  not  prove  a  success — then  another  mode,  an 
election  by  the  Alumni  of  the  University  could  be  tried,  or 
any  other,  which  on  account  of  the  circumstances,  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  General  Assembly,  might  be  deemed  expedient. ' ' 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  change  can  be  accomplished 
very  easily  by  a  simple  Act  of  the  Legislature. 

THE  HAPPY  MARRIAGE. 
May  we  not  learn  with  profit  the  lesson  of  many  other 
institutions,  and  expect  through  the  organized  body  of  a 
strong  alumni  association  to  reach  the  volunteer,  the  philan- 


[18] 

thropist,  the  man  who  gives  aid  to  education  for  the  preser- 
vation of  learning,  for  the  cause  of  benevolence,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  grand  and  everlasting  memorials  to 
families.  Our  forefathers  believed  in  uniting  the  system  of 
supporting  education  for  the  sake  of  benevolence  v^ith  the 
system  of  supporting  it  as  a  means  of  preserving  their  liber- 
ties. Is  there  any  valid  reason  w^hy  we  should  turn  our 
backs  upon  the  happy  marriage  ?  Because  the  whole  people 
contribute  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  the  support  of  an 
institution  for  higher  education  as  a  permanent  investment 
in  good  citizenship  is  not  likely  to  drive  away  from  its 
support  the  believer  in  benevolence  and  philanthropy.  On 
the  contrary,  world-hearted  men  and  women  will  be  attracted 
to  its  support  by  the  knowledge  that  the  "University  is  as 
permanent  as  the  government,"  that  "it  stands  on  higher 
grounds  than  other  aggregate  corporations,"  that  the 
"trusteeship  is  of  the  whole  people"  binding  themselves 
through  their  corporate  agents  "in  special  trust  and  confi- 
dence to  apply"  each  of  their  benefactions  "to  the  exact 
purpose  of  which  it  was  created  and  exists."  They  will  be 
all  the  more  inclined  to  give,  by  the  knowledge  of  the  people's 
guarantee  of  permanent  support,  permitting  and  securing  a 
broader  and  a  higher  field  of  usefulness,  imposing  a  binding 
and  a  lasting  obligation  in  public  service,  and  breathing  the 
fire  of  the  love  of  country  into  the  beaut}^  of  the  love  of  God. 
But  there  is  much  force  in  the  old  maxim,  "We  hate  only 
those  we  do  not  know."  Its  truth  is  painfull}^  illustrated 
these  days  by  the  ever  widening  breach  between  labor  and 
the  far  off  managing  owners  and  officials  of  great  corpora- 
tions. So  it  is  with  the  University  and  with  a  large  body  of 
our  most  substantial  citizens,  residents  right  here  in  North 
Carolina,  as  well  as  with  manj^  who  have  gone  to  make  and 
increase  their  fortunes  elsewhere.  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  the  first  duty  of  an  organized  Alumni  Associa- 
tion is  to  devise  means  of  sending  home  to  the  minds  of  our 
own  home  people,  as  well  as  abroad  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 


[19] 

relation  of  this  University  to  the  whole  people,  its  public 
service,  its  record  of  achievements,  its  pressing  needs,  its 
momentous  possibilities,  and  most  of  all  its  glorious  oppor- 
tunities for  making  benefactions  a  thousand  times  effective. 
The  December  report  of  the  President  is  a  great  step  in  this 
direction.  But  in  my  humble  opinion  much  more  will  have 
to  be  done  before  we  may  expect  to  uproot  the  prejudice, 
overcome  the  inertia,  awaken  the  interest  and  draw  to  our 
support  the  sympathy  of  many  men  in  this  State  whose  aid 
the  University  needs  and  so  richly  deserves. 

THE  VANDERBILT  GIFT. 

The  stor}'  of  the  Deems  Fund  is  in  many  respects  a  happy 
illustration,  not  only  of  the  channels  through  which  great 
philanthropists  can  be  reached,  but  especially  of  the  wonder- 
ful fruitfulncss  of  gifts  to  this  institution.  Some  twenty  years 
ago,  as  a  meraerial  to  the  young  son  of  Dr.  Charles  F.  Deems, 
Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  of  New  York,  supplemented  the 
small  gift  of  $300  from  Dr.  Deems  with  the  gift  of  $10,000, 
to  the  University  to  be  loaned,  principal  and  interest,  to  such 
young  men  as  need  help  in  order  to  secure  an  education.  Up 
to  the  first  of  July,  1902,  this  fund  had  not  only  aided  three 
hundred  and  eighty-two  faithful,  active  Anglo-Saxon  youths 
to  get  a  college  education,  but  had  increased  by  repayment 
of  loans  and  interest  until  the  whole  fund  amounted  to 
$21,733.79,  or  more  than  100  per  cent.  A  splendid  tribute 
to  the  industry  and  honor  of  the  kind  of  men  we  raise  down 
here  in  old  North  Carolina !  There  is  pressing  need  for  more 
money  of  this  kind.  Three-fourths  of  the  six  hundred  students 
here  to-day  are  the  sons  of  poor  men,  or  are  here  as  the  result 
of  money  borrowed  or  earned.  "During  the  fall  of  1900," 
says  President  Yenable,  in  reporting  yearly  expenses,  "about 
two-thirds  of  the  students  handed  in  accounts  of  their  ex- 
penses, and  from  these  accounts  it  was  seen  that  those 
students  who  paid  no  tuition  (holding  scholarships)  and 
also  received  their  board  as  waiters,  averaged  $63.60  for  all 


[20] 

expenses,  exclusive  of  clothing  and  travel.  Those  paying  no 
tuition  but  board  {about  $8.00  per  month),  averaged 
$144.61,  and  lastly  the  average  expenses  of  the  student 
paying  tuition  and  board  were  $265.25."  Well  may  the 
University  be  proud  of  this  record.  Can  there  be  any  more 
fruitful  philanthropy  than  the  aiding  of  worthy  young  men 
to  get  an  education  at  such  an  institution  ? 

A  GREAT  STATE  LIBRARY  WANTED. 

During  the  last  few  years  there  has  grown  up  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  North  Carolina  a  great  number  of 
small  libraries  in  connection  with  the  public  schools  and  the 
graded  schools.  The  number  is  now  over  five  hundred,  I 
believe.  Such  libraries  are  indicative  of  the  birth  of  a  greatly 
increased  demand  for  reading  and  knowledge.  Unless  an 
infant  library  can  receive  constant  direction  and  support 
from  capable  and  intelligent  sources,  it  is  not  likely  to  get 
much  further  than  its  swadling  clothes.  Very  few  people 
have  any  knowledge  of  the  ways  and  means  of  running 
libraries.  Such  information  is  not  picked  up  at  country 
cross  roads  and  in  village  factories.  Library  economy  is  a 
special  branch  of  human  knowledge,  acquired  by  a  few  intel- 
ligent people  after  ^^ears  of  persistent  study  and  extensive 
experience.  Already  in  some  parts  of  the  country  the  force 
and  value  of  these  truths  have  been  quickly  grasped  and 
complete  State  library  systems  established  whereb}'  the 
independence  of  the  local  library'  is  preserved,  but  opportu- 
nity is  given  its  management  to  acquire  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  books  and  of  methods  of  conducting  a  library  from  a 
great  central  source  of  expert  information  of  library  economy. 
To-day  there  is  no  great  library  in  North  Carolina,  no  gen- 
eral knowledge  of  library  economy,  no  great  source  of  library 
inspiration.  The  library  at  the  University  is  probably  the 
best  equipped  in  the  State,  but  a  feeling  of  sadness  must 
needs  come  over  the  heart  of  every  loyal  son  of  our  beloved 
State  when  his  eyes  fall  upon  our  University  library  equip- 


[21  ] 

ment.  The  building  shelters  40,000  volumes  and  20,000 
pamphlets,  but  many  of  them  are  necessarily  packed  and 
jammed  away  in  such  a  fashion  as  to  largely  destroy  their 
usefulness.  What  is  a  library  without  research  rooms,  con- 
sultation rooms,  seminar  compartments,  with  but  little 
room  for  the  general  reader,  and  less  for  the  real  scholar  and 
none  for  the  specialist,  the  man  who  digs  down  to  the  bottom 
of  research  and  brings  out  the  pure  gold  of  human  learning 
from  the  treasure  houses  of  the  world  ?  Will  not  some 
philanthropist  come  to  our  aid  and  erect  a  memorial  library 
building  on  this  beautiful  campus,  with  sufficient  funds  for 
equipment  ?  Will  not  some  great-hearted  son  or  daughter  of 
the  "Old  North  State"  give  our  people  a  great  library,  the 
head  of  the  library  systemof  the  State,  to  illumine  the  homes 
of  all  the  people  of  every  creed  andof  every  station,  and  show 
them  the  hidden  paths  to  the  kindly  fruits  of  earth  and  to 
the  eternal  blessings  of  Heaven  ?  Pearls  and  palaces  and 
diamonds  and  dinners  will  vanish  with  the  tolling  of  a  bell, 
great  fortunes  will  be  made  and  lost  in  a  centurj'  in  a  whirl- 
pool of  luxury  and  extravagance,  princes  will  follow  princes 
in  the  lengthening  cycles  of  debauchery  and  corruption,  but 
the  rich  fruits  from  this,  the  most  beautiful  flower  of  philan- 
thropy in  the  garden  of  your  nativitv  will  give  ever  increas- 
ing hope  and  happiness  to  your  people  and  prove  immortal 
and  divine ! 

TEMPLE  OF  EVANGEL. 
We  stand  here  to-day  in  Gerrard  Hall,  built  a  half  century 
ago  from  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lands  of  Major  Charles  Ger- 
rard, bought  with  his  blood  in  a  war  for  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  Students  and  professors  are  called  to  worship  here, 
and  \'et  one-third  of  the  persons  summoned  are  unable  to 
find  seats.  Within  five  years  more  two-thirds  of  the  students 
and  professors  will  be  unable  to  find  seats  at  these  morning 
prayers.  The  religious  life  of  the  Universit}-  is  largely  in  the 
^care  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Over  sixty 
per  cent,  of  the  students  and  all  the  professors  are  church 


[22] 

members,  and  about  two  hundred  are  members  of  the  Asso- 
ciation.   Twice  a  week  evening  prayers    are  held  by  the 
Association.    Four  Sunday  schools  in  the  nearby  country 
are  supported  by  the  Association,  and  it  maintains  also  a 
weekly  service  in  a  near  by  cotton  mill.     Morning  classes  in 
Sunday  school  with  an  attendance  of  from  one  to  two  hund- 
red are  taught  by  the  professors.    Says  President  Venablein 
his  report,    "They  have  no  suitable  rooms  for  their  Bible 
class  meetings.    No  general  assembly  hall,  no  reading  room 
and  no  library."    Let  us  go  back  for  a  moment  and  recall 
that  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  of  the  Central  and  Pied- 
mont sections  of  North  Carolina  were  the  first  persons  to 
raise  their  voices  for  this  University  as  a  means  of  preserving 
religious  liberty  for  all  the  people  of  every  sect,  and  of  every 
station.     Let  us  call  to  mind  the  story  of  yonder  tablets  to 
commemorate  the  names  and  the  deeds  of  that  host  of  our 
country's  leading  men  sent  out  from  the  halls  of  this  hal- 
lowed place.    Not  only  is  every  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
State  recorded  here,  but  many  of  the  great  events  of  the 
history  of  America  can  be  studied  from  these  tablets.    All  of 
these  and  thousands  and  thousands  more  of  lesser  promi- 
nence received  their  formative  influences  in  the  great  depart- 
ments of  society  from  this  University.    Church  people  of 
North  Carolina,  let  me  ask  you  if  this  is  not  the  greatest 
stragetic  point  in  the  entire  State  for  those  religious  opera- 
tions that  seek  to  touch  the  heart  of  higher  life  and  quicken 
its  beats  with  the  universal  love  of  the  Father?    As  an  illus- 
tration of  the  strategic  importance  of  this  institution  from 
a  religious  standpoint  permit  me  to  recall  the  sublime  work 
of  Joseph  Caldwell,  who  for  thirty  years  was  the  "Atlas  on 
whose  shoulders  our  University  world   rested,"   and   who 
during  a  large  part  of  the  time  was  the  controlling  spirit  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  North  Carolina  and  Chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary 
in  Virginia.    It  was  the  voice  of  Joseph  Caldwell  standing  in 
the  pulpits  of  this  University  that  more  than  any  other  man, 


[23] 

with  the  thunderbolts  of  liis  giant  intellect,  hurled  back  the 
furious  thraldom  of  infidelity  that  swept  over  our  State  and 
threatened  to  enconi])ass  it  forever  in  the  darkness  of  life 
without  ho))e,  of  mind  without  God.  Is  it  not  time  to  fling 
away  Lilliputian  ideas  and  let  Heaven  bom  Benevolence 
join  hands  with  Self-Protection  in  the  erection  of  a  splendid 
Temple  of  Evangel  upon  this  campus  commensurate  with 
the  needs  of  the  religious  life  of  this  Universit\'? 

This  is  no  place  for  sectarian  mediocrit}-.  It  is  the  true 
home  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  a 
grand  field  for  the  great  Evangelist  of  evei^y  denomination. 
I  remember  that  during  my  senior  year  all  but  three  students 
joined  in  the  work  of  a  great  evangelist  and  evening  praj-ers 
were  held  on  many  of  the  floors  of  these  buildings.  It  may 
be  observed  that  several  of  the  leading  Christian  men  of  the 
State  to-day  received  their  religious  awakening  at  Chapel 
Hill  in  the  spring  meetings  of  1889.  I  was  one  of  the  three 
black  sheep  that  took  no  part  in  the  work.  In  subsequent 
j'cars  I  have  many  times  regretted  my  course. 

GRADUATE  DEPARTMENT. 

So  much  for  volunteer  givers  of  large  amounts  for  great 
single  objects.  Before  closing,  allow  me  to  call  the  attention 
of  this  body,  and  so  far  as  I  may  be  able  that  of  the  whole 
State  to  another  department  of  this  University,  which  from 
necessity  has  been  sadh'  neglected,  but  which  in  the  course  of 
time  will  prove  its  crowning  glor\-.  I  refer  to  the  graduate 
department  of  which  President  Venable  in  painful  candor 
says,  "No  special  eff"ort  has  been  made  to  develop  this  de- 
partment, as  the  strength  of  the  faculty  is  taxed  bj'  the  large 
number  of  undergraduate  students."  It  is  in  this  direction 
that  the  individual  with  moderate  means  can  wisely  and 
with  great  profit  to  the  University  and  to  its  work  in  up- 
building the  State,  give  the  smaller  contributions  in  keeping 
with  the  state  of  his  exchequer  and  along  the  lines  in  which 
he  may  be  strongly  interested. 


[24] 

Fellow  Alumni  and  especially  you  young  men,  we  owe  to  this 
University  a  thousand  times  more  than  we  can  ever  repay. 
We  owe  to  the  State  and  to  the  noble  men  and  women  who 
have  given  their  hearts  and  their  treasures  to  this  institution 
a  debt  of  great  public  service.  Moved  by  the  love  in  our  own 
hearts  that  sends  its  warmth  down  into  our  very  souls,  and 
that  lifts  its  beauty  up  to  the  face  of  high  Heaven,  let  us 
make  a  great  common  effort  to  take  up  the  burdens  that  our 
fathers  have  so  faithfully  carried,  and  lift  up  to  a  higher  plain 
of  strength  and  usefulness  this  grand  old  guardian  of  the  civil 
and  religious  liberties  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina. 

Can  we  not  start  here  today  and  appoint  a  committee  from 
this  body  to  make,  during  the  coming  year,  a  thorough  study 
of  the  problems  of  education  in  North  Carolina  with  a  view 
to  uniting  our  loyal  sons  and  daughters  in  the  common  hope 
and  upon  the  common  purpose  of  upbuilding  this  institution 
for  the  higher  education  of  the  whole  people  ?  We  can  have 
this  committee  report  the  results  of  its  labors  to  this  body 
one  year  from  today,  at  which  time  a  further  committee  can 
be  appointed  to  memoralize  the  General  Assembly  at  its  next 
regular  session  for  the  purpose  of  securing  its  active  co-op- 
eration in  this  grand  labor  of  love  which  we  have  under- 
taken. 

FELLOWSHIP  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORY. 

To  these  ends,  Mr.  President,  I  now  desire  to  contribute 
permanently  the  yearly  income  derived  from  four  thousand 
dollars.  And  it  is  my  wish  that  during  the  coming  year, 
this  income  be  given  to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  a  building 
for  the  religious  needs  of  this  institution  and  thereafter  to  go 
toward  the  establishment  of  a  fellowship  in  North  Carolina 
History  in  connection  with  the  University,  but  open  to  all 
students  of  all  institutions  for  higher  education  in  the  State. 
That  the  selection  of  the  holder  and  the  scope  of  his  work 
shall  be  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the  professor  of 
History  of  the  University,  of  Dr.  John  S.  Bassett,  during  his 
professorship  at  Trinity  College  and  of  the  donor  or  a  person 
to  be  hereafter  designated  by  the  donor. 


